A Fast-track panel has provisionally approved the Haldon Solar Farm, a 320-hectare development near Lake Benmore in Canterbury.
The facility will contain approximately 360,000 solar panels mounted on rotating steel frames and generate enough electricity to supply 45,000 homes. Construction is expected to take up to 18 months.
Developer Lodestone currently runs four solar farms in the North Island and has six more either planned or under construction. The panel invited 19 stakeholders to submit comments before making a final decision, including councils, government departments, iwi, electricity operators and environmental organisations.
The panel found Lodestone's initial ecological assessments contained errors, which the company later corrected by replacing the assessment and adding environmental management measures. Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society argued the project's impacts outweigh its benefits and recommended declining the application, while Canterbury Regional Council, the Department of Conservation and Mackenzie District Council provided detailed assessments.
The panel ultimately concluded the adverse impacts were proportionate to the regional and national benefits. Lodestone managing director Gary Holden said "the positive draft decision recognises that renewable energy development and environmental stewardship can be delivered together", noting the company collaborated with the panel, mana whenua and technical experts throughout the design process.